Portable package for containers



P 8, 1970 A. J. lORlO 3,527,345

PORTABLE PACKAGE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 10, 1969 r IIIIIIIIIII 5 FIG.7 25

United States Patent 3,527,345 PORTABLE PACKAGE FOR CONTAINERS Anthony J. Iorio, 126 Cottage Ave, North Providence, RI. 02911 Filed Feb. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 797,936 Int. Cl. A47b 73/00; B65d 21/02, 71/00 US. Cl. 206--65 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A row of containers held in assembled relation by generally channel shape strips of material with inturned flanges on the legs of the channel extending into the neck portion beneath the caps of bottles or and flanges of rows. A resilient crushable material is positioned between the tops of the containers and the base of the channel strip to compensate for irregularities inherent in the containers and to hold the containers under compression in the channel strip as a package unit. The channel strip also may be used as a storage support for the containers after they have been opened.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cans, jars or bottles, for example bottles of the type which store baby food, are small and their assembly into a package form is somewhat of a problem. The major concern is how to inexpensively package round containers which have poor stability when nested. It is costly to assemble round containers in a box-like package since the round containers must be slid into the box with complicated motions and expensive machinery. Shrink packaging is not satisfactory as round containers, even with stabilizers, do not remain in line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The package here set forth comprises a generally channel shape strip of material with depending legs having flanges extending toward each other and is of such flexibility that the legs may be spread so that by a vertical motion of the channel strip the legs may be spread to extend over the tops of the containers so that their flanges may enter the neck portion of the containers between the tops as moved downwardly and in order to take up irregularities in the containers at crushable resilient strip of material is positioned between the legs of the channel and is of a sufficient thickness so that the tops of the containers will compress this strip of resilient material and in some cases indent it forming a recess therein and holding the containers snugly in the channel strip due to the friction developed between the top of the container and the bottom of the channel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking at a three bottle package assembled in a generally channel shape strip of material with the cushion material located between the base of the channel strip and the tops of the jars;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the resilient crushable strip;

FIG. 3 is an end view illustrating the manner of positioning the crushable strip into the general channel shape strip;

FIG. 4 is an elevation showing the manner of positioning the channel strip assembled with the crushable strip onto the bottles;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation which shows the stacking of the packages one upon the other;

FIG. 6 is an end view showing a modified form of channel strip;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view enlarged and showing the 3,527,345 Patented Sept. 8, I970 ice DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the drawings 10 designates generally a strip of material preferably extruded plastic, comprising a base portion 11 with depending legs 12 extending therefrom. These legs are each provided with inturned flanges 13 which are here shown as inclined upwardly to facilitate the forcing of a cushion member or a bottle cap between the legs 12.

The cushion member is shown in perspective by itself in FIG. 2 and designated 15 and may be of some expanded plastic material such as styrene or corrugated cardboard or almost any material which will form a cushion having flexible and resilient or crushable qualities and is here shown as creased as at 16 lengthwise thereof and of a width just slightly greater than the distance between the legs 12 of the channel strip 10. This cushion member 15 may be assembled vertically between the legs 12 as seen in FIG. 3 by a plunger or roller member designated generally 18 and having beveled ends 19 to engage the cushion 15 which may flex readily along the cerase line 16 and be forced between the legs 12 of the channel strip 10 so as to lodge against the inner surface of the base 11 and between and against the flanges 12. The dimensions of the cushion material 15 are such that it will be under compression between the legs 12 and will remain substantially against the base of the channel strip after the member 18 is removed.

The bottles, 20 which are illustrated as an example of a container, are generally cylindrical with tapered or beveled lower surfaces 21 as the cylindrical surface emerges with the bottom 22 of the bottle. Each of the bottles has a neck 23 at their upper portion reducing the cylindrical outer surface of the bottle at the location where the top 24 of the bottle is positioned on the bottle. The top 24 may be secured to the bottle by a screw or bayonet lock type of securing and has overhanging edges 26 as seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 7. This neck and overhanging edge provides a recess 25 for the entrance of the edges of the flanges 13 so as to engage the lower edge of the caps 24 or what may generically be termed a top lip of the bottle. In like fashion, a can with its rolled end provides a lip with a lower edge. The distance between the flanges is such that the flanges enter at diametrically opposite points of the bottles so as to suspend the bottles in the position substantially shown in FIGS. 1 and 7. In order to position the channel shape strip of material onto the bottles, the bottles are positioned in a row such as shown in FIG. 1 and the channel shape strip with the cushion 15 inserted therein is forced vertically downward or axially of the cylindrical bottles so as to spread the legs as shown at FIG. 4 with the flanges 13 sliding along the edges of the cap 24 until they are in a position to enter the recess 25 formed between the neck and the overhanging portion 26 of the caps when they will move inwardly toward each other and engage the caps as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7. The thickness of the caps 24 is such that when the flanges do extend into the recessess beneath the underside of the caps the bottles tops will engage the cushioned material 15 and indent or compress the same, the same being resilient or crushable so as to provide a slight recess 28 in the crushable material at the location of the bottle cap and conforming to the shape of the top or cap as shown in FIG. 7 so as to additionally assist in preventing the bottles from moving longitudinally of the channel strip material 10.

The base 11 of the channel strip 10 is provided with a recess 30 by reason of the raised portion 31 of the base so as to allow space for the head of a screw which may be positioned through an opening 32 in this portion with its head lodging in the recess 30. This base is also so shaped as to provide inwardly inclined portions 35 at the location of the outer edge of the base and extending inwardly so as to accommodate the beveled edges or inclined edges 21 of the bottles and assist in preventing them from movement laterally of the channel shape strip as will be clearly seen in FIG. 5, and this provides for the stacking of the packages one upon the other with less danger of the packages sliding one upon the other laterally of the extent of the channel shape strip material.

In some cases instead of the inwardly inclined formation 35, the legs may extend upwardly as at 37 as seen in FIG. 6 to engage along the beveled edges 21 of the bottles for the purpose of preventing lateral motion as above pointed out. In this situation the legs 12 are extended substantially vertically upward as shown in FIG. 6.

The legs 12 may flex about the location 40 where they join the base or they may flex inwardly from a point 41 and also at point 40 or only at the point 41 depending upon the relative thicknesses of the material at these locations. It might further be pointed out that the formation 31 providing the recess 30 also has the advantage of stiffening the channel shape strip of material lengthwise and of providing a more rigid package than would otherwise be the case. The generally channel strip is of a shape to permit of extrusion in its formation or it may be stamped from sheet metal.

Referring to FIGS. 8, 9A and 9B there has !been shown certain further modifications or configurations which suggest themselves from the embodiments previously shown. To this end, in FIG. 8 the portions which permit stacking of the containers can be moved inwardly from the flexing legs 12 and to this end a vertical wall portion 37A may be inwardly olfset and still provide the aligning function that is essential to stack the containers.

In FIGS. 9A and 9B the aligning function may be served by reentrant wall portions 42 which are inclined slightly outwardly or may be served by reentrant wall portion 43 in FIG. 9B which has a vertical section and an inclined section.

I claim:

1. A portable package comprising an elongated strip of material having a base, legs depending from said base in spaced relation, flanges on each leg projecting inwardly with respect to each other, a plurality of containers having adjacent one end thereof a reduced cylindrical outer surface forming a shoulder, the flanges of said legs entering said reduced surface and engaging said shoulders, a cushion of crushable material located along said base and between said depending legs, said material having a normal thickness greater than the distance between the base and the adjacent surface of the containers and under compression urging the shoulders of said containers against said flanges in assembled position with said strip.

2. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein said crushable material is of a width substantially the distance between said legs and is creased longitudinally to provide at least one bending line.

3. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein said crushaJble material is recessed and the top of the container extends into the recesses thereof.

4. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein said strip and legs are resilient for spreading said legs to pass over the end of the container for the flanges to reach said reduced surface.

5. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein the top of said base is shaped to assist in retaining a similar container package superimposed thereon.

6. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein the top of said base is inwardly inclined to assist in retaining a similar container package superimposed thereon.

7. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein said base has a downwardly opening channel to receive the head of a supporting screw.

8. A portable package as in claim 1 wherein the top of said container is a removable cap and the container is a bottle with the reduced surface a neck portion adjacent the cap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,217,644 10/ 1940 Conner 220-23 .4 2,693,385 11/1954 Cavalli et al. 211-74 2,851,188 9/1958 Pavelle.

3,224,594 12/1965 Schweitzer 211-74 3,314,532 4/1967 Henry 20645.31

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

